Contact Sport (The Streetlight AU)
by MamaBear2Two
Summary: It was a friendly game. And Ezra actually tried to join in. How exactly did this happen? Another look at my OC, Ruby Jackson and more antics and fun in The Streetlight AU.


Hey Everyone! The Streetlight kids and their muses have been very busy lately! Hope you enjoy another look into the antics and lives of this crew! :)

*StreetlightAU*

"Nate!" JD banged open the front door, yelling his brother's name again before he'd made it over the threshold, "Nate!"

He darted through the kitchen and down the side hall, "Na-ate!"

"John Daniel, what in the world?" JD barreled by the laundry room, as Ruby Jackson stepped into the hall, a laundry basket on her hip. "Nathan isn't here, JD. What in heaven's name is the matter?" She set the basket down, following JD as he skidded to a stop near Nathan's makeshift infirmary.

Whirling back around, her youngest ran back up the hall, grabbing her hand and tugging hard, "Momma, c'mon, you have to come!"

Letting herself be pulled by the upset child, she asked again, putting more firmness in her tone, "John Daniel, what is wrong?"

Pausing in the kitchen to catch his breath, JD sucked in a few big gasps of air, "Ezra...hockey...hurt...Momma, c'mon, he's bleeding!"

Startled, though not entirely surprised, she retrieved her hand from JD's grasp and moved to the counter. She grabbed towels and a few ice packs before heading for the front door.

"Show me, JD."

*StreetlightAU*

"Gosh, Ez...it's still bleeding I think." Vin's voice, full of awe had Ezra groaning and shoving Buck's shirt harder against his head.

"Hush, Vin. Ezra, let me look." Ruby spoke softly, one gentle hand tugging carefully on the arm that held her oldest's shirt firmly against the southern teen's ear.

"Momma, is he gonna be ok? Is his ear gonna fall off? Does it hurt, Ez? Buck, where'd ya leave everything?" JD's ramblings behind her had a quiet sigh leaving Ruby, as she tugged a little harder.

"Ezra, I need to see the damage." Looking up to meet Buck's eye, she asked, "What happened?" before resuming her attempt to get the auburn haired teen to release his hold on the bloodied shirt.

"Buck hit him!" Vin yelped, moving closer as Ruby finally pulled Ezra's hand away. She dropped her hold at his words and snapped her look back to Buck.

"You did what?!" She asked, brown eyes both concerned and confused.

"He did! And then there was blood everywhere! Cuz Ezra was too close to the goal and..." JD's litany was drowned out with Buck's loud denial.

"No! Momma it was an accident! I was playing the game with them-"

"Ain't never seen anything like that, Ms. Ruby! Never saw so much blood before neither! Not even when JD did Cascade Hill!" Vin's voice, still awed, broke into Buck's explanation and Ruby raised one hand in the air and gave a short whistle.

"Time! Boys, I-"

"Can we please attempt to stop this blood from dripping all over me?" Ezra held the shirt away from his body, head tipped slightly to the side, as blood trickled slowly down his ear.

Ruby threw one last look at Buck before wrapping a kitchen towel around an ice pack. Tossing Buck's shirt to the side, she pressed the ice pack into Ezra's hands. "I'm going to look at your ear, SweetTart. I'll be as careful as I can, then you can put the ice pack on it."

Ezra flicked his gaze to Ruby for a moment, the look he wore causing her to give him a sympathetic smile, and he nodded, doing his best not to wince when Ruby's hands came in contact with his ear.

"It's split. I think a butterfly bandage will work once it stops bleeding." She gently patted Ezra's shoulder and motioned for him to put the ice pack up to his ear. Rubbing his shoulder, she looked back to the other three, who hadn't said a thing after she called time.

"Boys, Ezra will be fine. Go get whatever you were playing with and bring it home." The two younger boys nodded, jogging back down North End Dr.

"We were playing street hockey, Momma," Buck began to explain before his brother and Vin were even out of sight. "Ez was standing near the goal. Too close. I hit the puck, and..."

"And it clipped Ezra's ear?" Ruby asked, taking another look at the damaged appendage, despite the boy's mutters that it wasn't necessary.

"Yes, Ma'am," Buck murmured in response, retrieving his shirt from the ground and watching as his mother examined the side of Ezra's head as if looking for any other damage. "I didn't mean to hit him, Momma." Buck's concerned tone had Ruby looking over at him with a soft smile.

"I know, Sugar. Why don't you help your brother and Vin bring stuff back. I'm going to bring Ezra home and call Josiah." Buck gave a nod, about to apologize again, when Ezra stepped back from Ruby with a slight frown.

"There's no need for such measures, I'm perfectly capable-"

"Ezra, shush."

"But, Ms. Ruby, I really-"

"Ezra, your ear is injured and needs a bandage. Your father needs to know what's happened. We're going back to the house."

Mumbling under his breath that Josiah was not _really_ his father, Ezra let himself be led back toward the Jackson's, deciding it was best to argue no further with Ms. Ruby.

**StreetlightAU*

"Looks good, Hoss." Buck grinned across the table, before downing a glass of milk and reaching for a handful of the cookies Ruby had set on the table moments before.

"I fail to see how that's possible," the auburn haired teen grumbled back, picking apart the banana nut muffin in front of him.

"Girls love it," Buck said around a mouthful of cookies, his eyebrows waggling up and down.

Rolling his eyes, Ezra stood up, crossing the kitchen to place his cup in the sink. "Doubtful, Buck, really." He peered out the kitchen window into the backyard, momentarily watching Vin and JD play a sweaty game of soccer, before turning and leaning his back against the sink.

"Remind me again why you engage in games of physical activity?"

Grinning big, Buck dumped his own cup in the sink, "Cuz it's fun, Hoss."

Twisting his mouth up in a grimace, Ezra flicked a glance out the window again and back to Buck, "You are unbelievable and I am never attempting another physical sport with any of you."


End file.
